


Trials of Mastery

by Project0506



Series: Soft Wars [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, Gen, Kix is definitely the mom, Rex is everyone's dad, gen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Project0506/pseuds/Project0506
Summary: Rex has spent months reinforcing the concept that whenever Skywalker encounters a situation he isn't equipped to handle, his first reaction should always be to bring that problem to Torrent and they'll solve it as a team.  It's a strategy that has been overwhelmingly successful so far.The tiny Jedi is new.  Torrent will adapt.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker
Series: Soft Wars [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683775
Comments: 46
Kudos: 1147





	Trials of Mastery

“You’re running at a twelve right now sir,” Rex murmurs, quiet enough that the privates closest to them won’t pick it up on their buckets. They have an unspoken agreement, the General and him: Rex won’t ever undermine his authority in front of the troops, and Skywalker will actually try to listen. “I’m going to need you to walk it on back to a three.”

General Skywalker laughs. It’s tinged with more than a trace of concerning hysteria.

“Pretty sure a three’s not even remotely feasible right now.”

“Understood sir. Try for an eight.”

Skywalker clenches his teeth, but he closes his eyes and regulates his breathing. He’s _trying_ and that’s really all Rex can really ask. Rex risks reaching out, pressing a supporting fist against the small of Skywalker’s back where he’s taken to carrying tension. It’s a crapshoot sometimes whether or not he’ll accept contact in public, but today it pays off. He presses back against Rex’s gauntlet and nods, grateful.

“This is the definition of a cluster,” Skywalker finally offers.

“Torrent’s good at those,” Rex reminds him, and is pleased with the tight little grin he gets in return. “We’ll break it down. Define the problem. Go from there.”

“Pretty clear cut problem, captain. The council’s lost it’s sithdamn mind.” Rex tsks and taps the back of his fist against the curve of Skywalker’s pauldron in rebuke. Skywalker laughs again, and it’s closer to normal. “They’ve assigned me a Padawan. I didn’t even know they could _do_ that.”

Across the deck they’ve cleared out for their hunker down, Kix visibly fusses over the distressingly small humanoid in his typically brisk manner. Rex had been seriously concerned about where the General had dug up the tiny thing that had trotted in behind him to their position, and he’d been more than annoyed to find out that they’d been airlifted in to their _currently active warzone_. Someone thought it best to airlift in a child, instead of guns, meds, vode, resources they actually need to make this eventually _not_ an active warzone.

He’s still a little annoyed, to be quite honest. Skywalker picks up on it, shifts, presses their pauldrons together lightly in commiseration.

“What exactly is a Padawan?”

Skywalker grandly gestures towards the child with the same motion as that one Alderaanian spelling holonet show that he swears only old people watch, but binges whenever they have bandwidth for recreation. Little shit. Spending too much time with the shinies. Rex thwaps him again and, like a brother, Skywalker accepts it as his due.

“Basically a shiny Jedi.”

“You’re a shiny Jedi, sir.”

Skywalker rolls his eyes. “Shinier. Like ‘this is probably her first time out of the temple’ shiny.” He glances over at them, new worry furrowing his eyebrows. “His? Her? I forgot to ask. I don’t know how Togruta figure it.” He stills, and chews anxiously at his bottom lip. “I don’t know if they’re even fully Togruta. This is such a bad idea.”

“Well it’s fortunate that they’re currently being seen to by a medic,” Rex says, dry. Skywalker’s right; this is an absolute cluster. _Just_ what this particular battle had been lacking.

Rex waves, catches Kix’s attention. _‘Cadet’_ he signs. Kix’s disbelief is obvious even from this distance.

‘ _Jedi, question’_ he signs back sharply. Rex rolls his eyes.

‘ _Jedi cadet. Declarative.’_ Rex responds.

Rex doesn’t need to have the Force to know Kix is very, very angry right now.

‘ _Apology’_ Skywalker signs, sheepishly. _‘Unplanned.’_

Kix turns his back on them both. Yeah. He’s pissed. His fussing takes on a more frenetic tone. Rex wonders what Kix is going to do about armor. They don’t stock anything that small, but there’s no way he’s going to let them keep wearing the flimsy scraps of fabric they showed up in. Not while there’s still battledroids around at any rate.

“We are going to be bribing him for days for this, and we didn’t even do anything.” Skywalker bemoans. Rex sighs; he’s not wrong.

“What are we supposed to do with a Padawan exactly sir?”

“Feed ‘em, train ‘em, try not to kill ‘em, hope like hell they don’t pick up your bad habits?” Skywalker shrugs. “There were classes and such too, when I was a Padawan. How we’re supposed to do _that_ from the front lines I couldn’t tell you.”

“We adapt sir,” Rex says firmly. There will be no maudlin wallowing on his battlefield, thank you. “That’s what Torrent does. It will be no different now that we have a Padawan.” Skywalker chokes, and Rex eyes him worriedly. “Sir?”

“No, no it’s nothing.” It’s clearly not ‘nothing’, but whatever it is, Skywalker seems to find it more amusing than anything else. Rex shoots him a dirty look. “No really, it’s just,” Skywalker grins wide. “Just glad to know I can count on you for anything.”

Liar, Rex doesn’t say. Skywalker picks that thought up too and his grin is exactly a shiny’s shit-eating one.

“So!” Skywalker changes the topic. “Training plan for _our_ new Padawan, Rex?” Because of course whoever distributes cadet Jedi doesn’t include the manual. Rex presses a knuckle to the bridge of his nose for a second, the only outward sign of his annoyance he’ll allow himself.

“I’ll have a draft for your input as soon as we’re on friendly territory sir.” He sketches a glare. “You will be expected to assist,” he says firmly. If anything that makes Skywalker even more amused.

“Whatever you say, Captain.”

Rex nods sharply once, and turns, flipping his helmet into place. Time to do what Rex does best: research, strategize, implement. Delegate. He thumbs on his comm.

“Jesse. Oz. Torrent’s just been given a Jedi cadet. I need you to find me any information...”

**Author's Note:**

> A wild Ahsoka appears! Rex uses Adopt! It's Super Effective! 
> 
> Oya Torrent!


End file.
